Job Discussion Forums

[OhSverige]

Newbie Forum�well this is the place for me I see.

I hope this isn�t a stupid question but it has been something I have been wondering about (and debating) for some time now. I am currently a student (in her early 30�s) pursuing a Bachelor�s degree in History with a minor in Secondary Education. I plan to get licensed to teach here in Colorado and then plan on taking the CELTA course that is offered at Bridge-Linguatec in Denver. I am hoping to someday teach somewhere in Europe or Russia when all is said and done.

My question(s) for you are:

Do teachers that not only have a certificate in CELTA but also a degree in History and Education (albeit the Education degree will only be a minor) have any advantages?

History is my passion, but would I be better off with a degree in English?

My fianc� already has a Bachelor�s in Social Studies Education from NYU; will it be difficult for him to find employment without taking a TEFL/CELTA/TESOL course?

Thank you for reading!

[naturegirl321]

A BA is almost necessary to teach in most countries. If you have History and Education you could teach History in a school, maybe not an international one, if you don't have QTS, but at a bilingual one.

I would say go for the History one instead of the English one, then you could teach either subject.

In my opinion, a BA is more important that a TEFL, as far as getting jobs, however, the TEFL will help you greatly in the classroom.

[spiral78]

A first degree and a CELTA or other TEFL/TESL certification are basic newbie qualifications. While most European countries don't legally require teachers to have a degree (unlike some in Asia) the vast majority of newbie teachers do. It won't give you any particular advantage to have both - it simply means you'll be able to compete equally on the job market with most other newbies.

You might also want to consider taking your CELTA or other certification course in the country where you want to start teaching. There are a lot of advantages to this - you can get your feet wet in a country/culture while you have some logistical support from the training centre, your practice teaching students will be representative of people you'll be working with when you start, and you can make local contacts that will be useful when you need to arrange for housing and job contracts. Good training centres can give you invaluable information about what schools in the wider region are good to work for.

[denise]

Many (most??) jobs that require a BA don't specify a field. Those that do will likely ask for education, but I don't think you're limiting yourself at all by studying history. You'll still have plenty of job options. The BA could just be a requirement for a visa, so what you studied won't matter. (I majored in Peace and Conflict Studies! Not terribly EFL-y.) Your fiance probably won't have as many job options as you without some sort of TEFL qualification. You'll see a lot of ads that ask for a BA + TEFL certificate.

As always, I agree with spiral78. I think it's a great idea to take the course in the country/region that you want to teach in.

d

[Glenski]

OhSverige,
Your question is pretty broad if you don't mention countries where you plan to work.

What I can tell you in Japan is this:

Teaching license plus experience in your home country will give you the chance to apply to international schools. Good salary, and you can teach practically any subject (yes, history and social studies included) in English, not the local language.

Without the above qualifications, and with only a BA (in any major), you are going to have to start out at entry level work: conversation schools, dispatch company ALT, or JET Programme ALT. The CELTA doesn't matter to land those jobs. In fact, it hardly matters at all in Japan for any sort of teaching job.

[OhSverige]

[spiral78]

A legal work permit for France is nearly impossible regardless of your qualifications.
The job market in the Czech Rep is wide open for newbies, and it's an easy place to start, but you will be essentially looking at the same jobs/pay whether you have prior experience or not. Better-paid jobs just basically don't exist here, regardless of qualifications.

Russia I can't speak for entirely - you could ask on the Russia forum whether a BA + certification + experience is likely to get you a 'better' job in any way than just BA + cert.

[FuzzX]